Operation: Thunderbolt
by Yellow 13
Summary: The next part of my crossover series. the Soviet Union has found the Shagohod and is moving in to take it. set in the timeframe of 'Snake Eater' compleated
1. Internal Affairs

Operation: Thunderbolt

Supreme Commander Romanov

General's Conference Room

The Kremlin, Moscow

1805 Hours Local

Despite the hectic mood lately in trying to get our new spacecraft up and flying, the start of the meeting was delayed. I used this time to read the documents that were inside the red folder in the seat next to mine. The general that sat there was a fairly new one to the command, but we couldn't have won our previous mission without her. She was Veronica Barnes, formally the Air Boss on board one of General Granger's many aircraft carriers, but she got infested by an alien species known as the Zerg. She now had the complete control over her own assault force of Zerg, although we were still looking for a relatively low-value area for them to establish their base.

I had considered the Red Zones on the Earth in y own universe several times, although that would prove to be deadly to the Zerg that went in there. The Red Zones were areas of Tiberium growth that made that particular section of the planet uninhabitable to human life. About 30 of the Earth's surface was covered in Red Zones, and so far, only the few people lucky enough to become Tiberium Mutants had survived it.

I had also considered the polar regions of the Earths in the other universes we had visited, although I quickly dismissed that as well. It seemed as though the Zerg were warm-blooded, although that meant nothing in polar conditions. When I had asked her to relocate her forces to the moon, she agreed and pretty soon, the moon in my own universe was literally crawling with Zerg forces.

Anyways, I read the contents of the folder. Apparently, the tanks we had encountered in a recent battle against the yeerks were found. Their classification was the XT-205 'Shagohod'. The description of the plans was identical to the ones I had engaged and destroyed from the air. They each had a 100 barrel volley cannon for anti-armour warfare, twin forward high-calibre machine guns for anti-infantry purposes, six SA-6 Surface-to-Air missile sites mounted on them, two rocket engines that would each deliver over two million pounds of thrust allowing the tank to go at speeds of 300 kilometres per hour, and one Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile mounted inside a massive launcher over the front of the vehicle.

It would have to be a terrifying monstrosity if you were on the ground going up against that thing. We needed it, and badly. Our spacecraft development could wait until we found a general willing to take over the development, but General Kwi already favoured massive tanks for his assaults.

Now other Generals started arriving, each flanked by an aide and a bodyguard. Not that there was much that was going to attack us here, but Internal Security had actually had the nerve to demand that whenever Veronica Barnes was in the building, all essential personnel were required to have at least one bodyguard present at all times. I finished reading through the folder and placed it back on the chair where I had found it. As if on cue, Veronica Barnes came in to the room flanked by two of the deadly Zerg species known as 'Predators'. These were a new type of Zerg, original created from the DNA of a Hydralisk, but even more evolved then the Lurker or even Hunter-Killer breeds.

Finally, she sat down, and started to explain that one of her scouts had found a weapons factory that was potentially able to mass-produce these tanks in less then a day. The man in charge of this operation was one Colonel Volgin. By an astonishing coincidence, the current head of the KGB and this man shared the exact same name, although the scouts didn't actually see him. It was obvious as to what had to be done: kill the leader of this operation, destroy any yeerk presence in the universe and acquire the plans for the tanks. Any other concerns were secondary.


	2. DoubleTeam

Chapter Two

Supreme Commander Romanov

Metal Gear Universe

The Kremlin, Moscow

1200 Hours Local

Because the Soviet Union was still in existence here, it had been a fairly simple task to install my father, Alexander Romanov as the new Premier. Although, one of the downsides to this new arrangement was that we were now in nuclear standoff with the United States… this period of history was in most universes as the 'Cold War' era. We had something similar in the Command and Conquer Universe, but that was limited to shouting matches in the UN. Anyways, once we were in power, we set the KGB on an internal clean-up, finding any potential traitors or controllers and eliminating them. Apparently, the man we were after was in his own privet fortress that seemed as though it would need several tanks to break down and capture.

As I was studying some satellite photographs, I was trying to think of ways into the complex. The problem was that it was located in very mountainous terrain and overland attacks with tanks and infantry would most likely encounter extremely stiff resistance. Cruise missiles were another option, but we needed the plans for that tank, so we needed the facility largely intact. There was the option of an air assault, although the problem was that several Surface-to-Air Missile sites (or SAMs) were located in the area, and using our most advanced technology from the Tiberium Wars would certainly cause mass panic, so we were left with relatively few options for our attacks. I then had an idea. Aircraft COULD work, but they'd have to be the type of craft used in this timeframe.

The F-14A 'Tomcat' was just completing its trials in testing, and the MiG-21 'Fishbed' and Su-27 "Flanker' was already in production. Although, fighter aircraft weren't the answer in this strike. To get the plans for the tanks, we'd need to go in and infiltrate the area via Special Forces and then get out again in one piece. According to the US President Johnson, there already was an operative on the ground, so all that left for us to do was contact him and convince him to get the plans of this new weapon for us. This operative's codename was 'Naked Snake', although, his support team simply called him 'Snake'.

I was sitting in my new office, and considered who I should call to meet this 'Snake'. After reading several profiles of our various Special Forces, I made my decision. Pressing the intercom button, and spoke into the Red Phone. In this case, the intercom was connected to the Kremlin's own intercom system.

"Captain Patrick Roy," I said. "Report to my office IMMEDIATELY."

Captain Roy, or Bird Dog as he was known, was a top ace in the Federal Erusian Air Force. He was also bitten by a werewolf in one of our previous missions. While he was in the Air Force, he was also being considered for a slot in the Special Forces division. This was because of several things, but mostly in a forest, a wolf has a better chance of survival then a human does. Because of this, I was going to give him his first real Special Forces assignment.

Several minuets later, the door to my office opened, and he stepped through it. He ran his hand through his hair, and then said: "You wanted to see me, sir?"

I nodded and motioned for him to sit down. He did, although he seemed nervous. I opened one of the drawers in my desk and pulled out a case of Cuban cigars. Placing the box on my desk, I opened it up, took one out, and offered it to him. He declined, and I lit up the one I was holding and put the box back in my desk.

"Comrade Captain," I began. "You are interested in joining the Special Forces, da?"

He nodded. "A little. It's more the Special Forces requesting that I join them… Why?"

I leaned back in my chair. "I'm giving you your first assignment on the ground." I filled him in on the situation, and what I wanted him to do. He looked uncertain for a couple of seconds, and then asked: "Why are you asking ME? Elena and Clayton are more experienced at this sort of thing then I am, and I don't see how I'll—"

"I am asking you because I know that those two won't want to participate in this operation and it would be too dangerous to send them in together. A conflict of interest might occur and you know how dangerous that can be during a mission."

He nodded. "Yes sir, I understand. I'll go get ready for this mission."

"Excellent, although, if it isn't too much to ask, make sure all the equipment comes back in one piece."

He nodded, slowly and said: "I'll do my best, sir."

"Good, dismissed."

He got up, and left my office soon afterwards and I started to look for the people that would be his support team for this mission. Of course, this mission was going to be strictly confidential and nobody was going to now about it, beyond those that needed to. I ran down a list of people that would be able to provide the most help in this mission. Not directly, mind you, but more indirectly. A support team. We had a medic who specialized in this kind of operation, a now-retired Special Forces Commando who would provide information on all possible kinds of stealth measures, and a top weapons specialist who would tell Bird Dog, as his codename would be for this mission, about every possible bit of information he could possible need about any given weapon.

Captain 'Bird Dog' Roy

Bear 456

Entering Tselinoyarsk Airspace

1355 Hours Local

Because of the impassable terrain on the ground for human or wolf, I was going to be inserted into the area from a Para-drop. I was getting a little nervous, and while that may sound silly coming from a professional combat pilot, the truth was that when you were fighting, you weren't falling through the air, you were flying through it. When the modified bomb bay doors opened, I took a running jump from where I was in the rear section of the plane, and jumped. As I was falling, I tried to aim myself in the general direction of the river so even if I miss-calculated, I'd land somewhat safely. Once I was over the river, I arched my back and tried to glide smoothly into the wind, although it was easier said then done. I had never gone skydiving before and most of what I was doing was theoretical. The forest canopy was rushing up to meet me, and at the last possible second, I yanked back on the ripcord for my parachute. I knew what THIS felt like, having endured a couple of ejections before from my aircraft.

The parachute opened with a savage yank that hauled me upwards somewhat, but that was all I had the time for. Making sure I was over the river, I cut the parachute cords and held my breath. Next thing I knew, I was underwater, with the bottom of the river coming up pretty quickly. I hit it, and then used my feet to propel myself upwards and out. My head broke the surface and I looked around. Several people were surrounding the area, although they didn't seem to be looking for me. They each had black balaclavas and AK-47 assault rifles. Swimming carefully so as not to alert the guys on shore, I slowly made my way to the riverbank and hauled myself up on a log.

I took cover in some long grass and carefully examined the uniform I was wearing. Standard army stuff, really with different shades of green in random patterns throughout the whole thing. While it would provide good camouflage in the mossy places, I needed something else if I wanted to blend in. I carefully and quietly took the waterproof combat pack I had with me and slowly got undressed. No, I wasn't going to go 'Rambo' on these guys as that would be just plain stupid. Rather, once I was completely nude, I contacted my support team, let them know I wasn't going to be in touch with them for a while, and then hid my radio as well as the combat pack in a tight space where a tree had fallen over. Taking a twig off the tree, I held it in my mouth, dropped onto all fours, and started the Change into my wolf form.

Several agony-filled minutes later, I spat the twig out of my mouth and checked myself over. Good. In my wolf form, I'd be able to blend in much better. Who'd suspect a wolf as a spy? If anything, they'd mistake me for some of the local wildlife. This area of Russia apparently was unique. Because of thousands of scientific experiments done here, the place was crawling with creatures that had gotten loose and took over the ecosystem. Several species of wolves were among those, and with that, I could go almost undetected in this vast jungle. I stepped out of the long grass I was in and started trailing one of these commandos. My wolf instants kept telling me to run forward and attack, but I pushed those down. This wasn't stalking prey. This was following some goon until I found somebody else to follow.

Eventually, after a while of following a bunch of goons and getting nowhere, I tried to pick up other scents. Mostly, I got the goons and a couple of plants and other animals, but to the east, I caught something. Another human, sweating, and injured. I followed that trail now, trying to stay out of sight of the goons. It didn't work too well. In keeping my nose to the ground, I must have bumped into one of the many almost carbon-copy goons that were lurking around here.

"Hey! What the…!?" he yelled as if expecting an attack. He saw me, and I gave him a low growl exposing my teeth. He saw that, and reached inside his combat vest and took some kind of metallic disk. What was inside didn't seem to smell, although if that was a good thing or a bad thing, I didn't know. The commando slowly set the tin of food down, all the time saying something that might have been 'Nice doggy' repeated in a soothing voice as he could manage. Once the tin of food was on the ground, he suddenly turned, literally THREW his weapons away and took off as fast as he could go. Strangely, my wolf instincts didn't force me to go after him. I guess it decided in its primitive way that food that was sitting on the ground waiting for me to eat it was easier then chasing down a fast-moving prey item in an unfamiliar area. I shook my head and grunted. _Whatever…_

Holding the tin down with my forepaw, I tried to open it with my teeth, although it took a LONG time to get one of them locked around the ring so I could pry it open. Once it was, I opened it after a longer process of trial-and-error until eventually the lid came off it smoothly. I yelped as the sharp metal cut into the pads of my foot. I spat out the lid of the can a few seconds later, then started licking at the brownish substance inside the tin. When the first bits of it were down my throat, I almost gagged at their foul taste. After firing it down, and wondering if it was possible for a wolf to throw up, I kicked the can into a hallow log and started going again, trying not to put too much pressure on my injured paw. The scent was a bit harder to find again now that that moron had got in the way, and I started to wonder if I was even following that same guy to begin with.

Eventually, I thought I saw somebody go behind a waterfall. I followed and eventually I poked my head around the rock ledge that the guy used. He seemed to be the guy I was trying to find, so I went back to where I had stashed my stuff, Changed back into my human form, and walked very quietly towards the waterfall again. When I came to where he was again, I stepped in, and he pointed some kind of revolver at me.

"Who are you? You don't look like a Russian." He said.

I held my hands high. "Don't shoot, I was sent to help you."

"Help me with what?"

"With destroying the Shagohod. I was sent in to retrieve the plans for it, and to help you in any way possible."

"Who sent you?"

I told him everything, with the exception of my being a werewolf. Letting him know that I was from a different universe was enough of a shock to him. the next little while was spent trying to sort out what to do. Snake said that he was here to destroy the Shagohod and kill everybody who had any connection to it, although the plans for it were probably kept inside another section of the base. Eventually, it was settled. Snake would blow up the fuel tanks inside the main section of the base where the Shagohod was being constructed, while I would make my way into the High-security area of the base and find the plans there. Then, after he blew up the main building, I'd make my way out of the base and go to my extraction point while he did the same.

A great plan… in theory. Reality ALWAYS threw some kind of monkey wrench into the mix though.


	3. Mission Compete

Chapter Three

Jack 'Snake' Wayne

Grozny Grad Fortress

1512 Hours Local

When we got to the fortress, Bird Dog and I split up so he could get the plans for the Shagohod while I could go in and destroy it. Apparently, he had created a great distraction by planting some C-3 explosive on one of the tanks that were outside. Everybody rushed out to see what the heck was going on, and that allowed us to infiltrate almost undetected. When I got to the central wing of the fortress, I had to only do one thing: plant the C-3 explosives on the Shagohod rocket fuel tanks, leave and set them off. The resulting explosion would have destroyed most of, if not all, the central wing. After I got in, I went onto the high scaffolding, took out the sniper rifle I had gotten from 'The End' and used it on a couple of the technicians. The darts hit them, and seconds later, they fell asleep. I grinned to myself. That'd keep them out for more then long enough for me to do my job and get out.

After going down from the scaffolding, I crept slowly, and managed to kill one of the guards before he could see me. When I got to the first fuel tank, I placed the C-3 on it, and set the detonator up with my remote. EVA and I had agreed that setting all four of the fuel tanks off at the same time would be sufficient to destroy this place and the Shagohod that was standing idle on a platform. I planted the rest of the charges later, and I pressed the remote detonator. The timer clicked on, and I had 20 minutes to get out of the building before the things blew up.

I was just about to leave when something silvery and fast-moving slammed into me, knocking me to the ground and forcing the air out of my lungs. A foot crashed into my side seconds later, and held me down.

"You just don't learn, do you, Jack?" a female voice said. Crap… I had forgotten about The Boss… "Why are you here?"

I didn't say anything, and I heard another voice. "Finish him, Boss. He's been a thorn in our side for long enough." Volgin… this wasn't good at all.

The foot that was holding me down released itself and I sprung to my feet, making sure to throw a punch at the Boss' way. She sensed that, and evaded it with ease. I saw that Volgin and The Boss were there, but they weren't alone. Ocelot was there too and so was Bird Dog, lying on the ground looking fairly beaten up. When Volgin followed my stare, he said: "This guy was found snooping around in my underground vault. Apparently, my dogs were scared shitless when they tried to follow his scent and they took off." He held up two microfilms. "He was carrying these. One of these if the Philosopher's Legacy, the other one is the plans for the Shagohod."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Bird Dog's form seemed to be shifting. He gave me a look that said: "Keep him talking."

"What is the Legacy?" I asked. I heard about that thing several times, but I didn't know what it was.

Volgin grinned, and explained it to me at length. He told me practically everything and of what his overall plan was. Something about creating a new world order and using an unstoppable trump card to do so. I wasn't really paying attention. I was mostly looking to make sure that nobody noticed what Bird Dog was doing… whatever it was. When Volgin was finished, I heard a growling sort of sound and at first I thought Volgin was going to sic his dogs on me. When I looked at where the sound was coming from however, I yelled in shock involuntarily.

In Bird Dog's place was a wolf, and a huge one at that. Volgin looked over his shoulder.

"What the hell…!?"

"Holy shit!" Ocelot yelled.

The Boss didn't have any time to react as the wolf jumped on her and started to attack her. Taking that opportunity, I pulled out my AK-47 and emptied a clip into Volgin. His back was to me, standing and staring at the wolf with mouth agape when the bullets hit him. He tried to turn and fight me, but he was quickly cut down by my fire. Ocelot was reaching for his Single-action Army revolver when I adjusted my aim and fired off another burst that hit him in the knee, knocking him down and causing his aim to go wild. The bullet missed me by a generous margin, but it ricocheted off the support beam and struck the fuel tank.

"Oh FUCK!" I yelled before the explosion sent my flying back and crashing into the floor. The wolf and The Boss were both blown away from the blast, landing in a heap next to one of the doorways that lead out of the building. Scooping up the wolf in my arms, I ran as fast as I could for the exit. With one of the fuel tanks exploded and burning furiously, the others began to go too. The sleeping technicians closest were blasted away from them as if from a bomb blast, and the guards farther away from it were trying to avoid the shrapnel that was flying all over the place.

Then the ammo stores blew up, sending a hail of bullets everywhere and the explosives were adding their power to the conflagration. When I turned around to see the Shagohod, it was practically torn in half from the explosions. I grinned. Mission accomplished. The wolf woke up just then and squirmed away from me, racing towards Volgin's dead body. Using its mouth, it grabbed both of the microfilms and tore away before the fire consumed him. After that, it tore out the building just before another wave of explosions hit.

When we got outside, and a relatively safe distance away from the building, we just stood and watched it go up in flames. There were still secondary explosions going off, and now the tanks that were nearby were going up as well. Once the tanks were gone, everybody inside the base scrambled to leave. I looked at the wolf, and it grinned. For a second, I thought I saw Bird Dog's eyes staring up at me, but I convinced myself that it was just a trick of light. The wolf nodded, and then took off heading into the jungle, microfilms still in its mouth.

When the wolf was gone, I shook my head at whatever that weirdness was, and headed to my own extraction point. I let my support team know, and I heard cheering over the radio. In fact, Major Zero promised to get me in touch with the President, AND the Premier of the Soviet Union to let them both know of the good news. I hijacked a motorcycle and drove away, leaving the burning building behind me. The plans for the Shagohod were gone, the Legacy was also gone, Volgin, The Boss, and her Cobras were dead, the only existing Shagohod was gone up in flames, AND the ones that knew and helped in the project were either dead, or about to be captured and executed for treason.

Supreme Commander Romanov

The Kremlin, Moscow

1830 Hours Local

When word of Bird Dog's extraction came, I immediately called in an air strike to flatten what was left of the fortress. All traces of its existence were wiped out, and the people that had survived the explosions were taken into custody and were given a choice: cooperate and help build more of these tanks, or die. Most of them chose the former. When I went down from my office to see the microfilms Bird Dog had recovered, I also noticed the lack of any of the equipment we had given him. When he felt my gaze upon him, he said: "sorry, sir. Complications arose and… well, you get the idea."

I glared at him for that, and let him know that replacing that equipment would come directly out of his pay check, although when I saw that one of the microfilms contained several million dollars on it, I reconsidered it, and let him off with a warning. When I looked at the other microfilm, I grinned, and handed the plans over to all the Generals. They would make their own versions of the tanks and it was much faster then getting only a handful of these tanks produced at a time.

When the plans were handed to each of our best generals, they each took them, with the exception of Prince Kassad, and redesigned them in their own ways. That was fine with me. Variants of the same thing were a very good thing to have, especially with our General's preferred specialities.

While I waited for the plans to become finished, I went looking through the wreckage looking for anything that might be of use to the project. Something green caught my eye. I went over to it, and picked it up. It looked like the blade of an axe or something similar, but when I felt the power it gave off, I knew that it wasn't. Returning to base immediately, I got the other sword fragments I had collected through the past few missions, and arrayed them out in more or less the correct shape.

The handle was formed in two parts, the blade was another longer part, and the part I had just found seemed to be the tip of the sword. Although, there was something missing to it… the parts were still apart, and not fused together into one sword. When I examined the handle again, I saw what I was looking for: there was a small gap in between the two parts. Somehow I knew that was the part I needed to put the sword back together… the question was where to look.


End file.
